Family Time
by lizziebrewster
Summary: Potentially a series of One-Shots about Brennan, Booth and Parker doing family things together. I'll apologise in advance for the abundance of fluff!
1. Monkey World

_This is very different to everything I've written so far. It's T-rated for a start, and B/B are in an established relationship. And Parker is here too. All of this is new ground, and came spilling out of me before I could stop it! It doesn't take much guessing where I was when it happened either! _

_There is the potential for a string of one-shots on similar themes, or this might be a one-off blip. That depends on what you guys think of this.... _

_---------------_

"Are they fighting?" Wide-eyed the little boy looked back to where his dad's new girlfriend sat smiling, head resting on the shoulder of the man beside her. His small fingers pawed at the glass of the chimpanzee enclosure as the apes chased each other round and round the agonisingly small space.

She shook her head, reassuring the young boy.

"No Parker, they're just playing. That's actually an important male bonding rite that these _pan troglodytes_ haven't been privy to since they're captive and have forfeited many of their 'normal' behaviours in order to become more humanized."

Cocking an eyebrow, the boy looked confused.

"He's eight, remember Bones," Booth whispered in her ear, nose buried in the deep brown hair that cascaded down her neck.

"Oh yea," She giggled quietly as his breath tickled her skin. "You said to use small words."

Turning back, she addressed the still-curious child stood before them.

"Do you play Tag with you friends?" he nodded furiously. "Then they're playing tag." She nodded back at him, proud that she'd explained in terms he understood. Booth nuzzled into her cheek, seeing the pride on her face he kissed her gently.

"Much better." She melted against his touch, hand lifting to cup her smiling face softly as she kissed him back.

"Eww!" Parker wrinkled his nose at them. "You guys are gross!" Poking his tongue out, he turned back to the chimpanzees, now swinging back and forth from ropes attached to the ceiling. Fears cast aside; he was once again enthralled in seconds.

"I love this." Booth wrapped his arm around her back, pulling her in closer against him.

"Despite their effectively being imprisoned and forced to perform on a daily basis, I admit I too am enjoying myself immensely."

"This is a rescue centre Bones. All these animals," he gestured towards the tank in front of them as well as off to the side and into the park beyond. "Would otherwise be dead or enslaved."

"You can't know that."

"I trust the centre when they say the animals are happier, healthier, and loved here. But that isn't what I meant," he shook his head, stumbling over the words. "I love being a family with you."

"You don't need me around to do family things. I'm family to neither you nor Parker."

"There's more than one kind of family, Bones." He shook his head again at her naivety. She'd learnt a lot in their time as partners, and more since accepting him into her life as a boyfriend, but still there were things she just didn't get, and it never failed to break his heart. "Define family." She started to cut in; he held a finger to her lips to cut her off. "Beyond a blood connection."

She thought for a moment. Indeed, she never did anything without thinking it through first - that was one of the many things he couldn't help but love about her.

"Anthropologically speaking," she started, pausing just for a second before continuing – she didn't fail to notice how he smiled every time she muttered those two simply words, "a family could be defined as a group of people living in close proximity to one another, who share collective ideals and beliefs, and work together for the successful rearing of offspring."

"So..." he guided her to the conclusion that seemed just beyond the reach of her logic stepping-stones. Her nose wrinkled as she thought.

"We don't live together though, nor do I share your superstitious beliefs."

Booth shook his head slowly.

"You're just being stubborn now. Stop thinking, just for a minute, and simply _feel_."

She signed, but nevertheless did as he said. Against her better nature, she stopped scrutinizing and analysing everything around her, and allowed herself to just _feel_. Watching the small boy engage with other children by the glass, she sank closer into Booth's touch, relishing the firmness of his muscles surrounding her, protecting her from an unseen enemy. She thought back to those first moments waking up beside him each morning; of falling asleep in his arms every night; of eating breakfast as the two (or three) of them; of no longer needing an excuse to call or visit his apartment; of having Parker desperately try to explain movie after movie to her, only to drag her into the lounge and demand she watch them right now. She thought of the irrational panic she'd felt just days ago at being unable to contact him after hearing of a fatal accident involving a black Sequoia while he'd gone to pick up Parker, and how overcome with joy she'd felt as she had opened the door to find the two Booth men standing there that evening. It wasn't logical but …

"Yes, after considering, I conclude we could be described as a family unit."

Booth couldn't help but grin at her as she resigned to his being right about this. He reached across, hooking a finger beneath her chin and pulled her mouth to his. Their kiss was slow and leisurely, and probably a little too passionate for the setting, but with Parker still engrossed by the chimpanzees, they threw caution to the wind.

It'd been just a few weeks since she'd turned up at his door well past midnight, eyes puffy and heart pounding. After years of fighting against it, one particularly troubling case had torn down the defences she'd built for herself and caused her feelings for Booth to hit her like a tonne of bricks. The stark revelation scared her more than she'd care to admit and left her asking questions she simply didn't know the answers to. Without thinking of how it might make him feel, she'd done the thing that felt most natural at the time - turned to her partner, to her friend, to Booth, pleading with him to explain these feelings to her. Ever the gentleman, he'd pushed aside his own happiness in favour of hers, and comforted her, consoled her, talked her back from the emotional precipice that she was desperately clinging to the edge of. She'd fallen asleep in his arms right there on his couch, and his heart had near enough broken as he watched her sleep, forcing himself to accept that this might be the closest they were ever going to get.

So it'd been a pleasant surprise when he was woken to the feel of her lips on his skin and radiant blue eyes twinkling at him. When they'd made love that morning, and almost every morning since, she'd opened herself up to him in the way so few had been privy to. And while the thought of a lasting relationship still daunted her (though if was to succeed with anyone it'd be Booth, no doubt there) she was learning every day that it needn't be that way.

Increasingly they were spending time together as the three of them - yes, their 'family' (today's learning point, though there would no doubt be more) - and her preconceived notions about relationships and dating, of socialising outside of a work environment, on living a full and rewarding life, were being disproved and reformed on a daily basis. Their trip to Monkey World had been Booth's idea - an outing that would satisfy the eight year old in his son, the anthropologist in his girlfriend, and the primate in him simultaneously. She'd put up a half-hearted protest at first; there was work that needed doing, things that simply couldn't wait. But now here they were.

She shuffled on the bench next to him, sitting straighter before allowing her head to rest on his shoulder once more.

"I like family time too." Her voice was barely more than a whisper that disappeared into the general hubbub of the exhibit, but he heard. He always heard.

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_Let me know what you think - is it too fluffy and cheesy!?! Or, if I were to continue, any suggestions for other places they could visit. _


	2. Bowling

"I still don't get it." Screwing her nose up at the tattered bowling shoes she'd been handed, Brennan followed Booth to where the excited little boy had planted himself on the floor (in the middle of the walkway, in the way, of course!)

"Why do we need special shoes? I liked my sneakers."

"Because, Bones!" Parker rolled his eyes at her dramatically, flopping his palms against the floor. "Its the rules. You gotta have bowling shoes for bowling!"

"But they're so dirty and worn. How come you get nice ones?" she elbowed Booth in the ribs as he laced his immaculate shoes.

"Dad always has to wear his own shoes. They're his lucky shoes." He spoke with conviction, as if he truly did believe inanimate sheets of leather microfibre and firm rubber were capable of such magic. Booth didn't need to look at her to know she'd find the idea ridiculous.

"They're just shoes, Parker. Objects have no intrinsic value, even a child should know that."

Confused, he turned back to lacing his rented shoes as Booth stood behind Brennan and wrapped his arms around her, resting his chin on her shoulder.

"Just put the shoes on Baby, and if you enjoy this, maybe we can buy you some shoes." His voice was low and deep, his breath tickling the side of her neck.

"Then I won't have to wear these unhygienic ones?" she melted closer into him, letting his scent consume her.

"They've been sprayed Bones, they're clean."

"I think we have different definitions of 'clean' because -"

She didn't get the chance to finish as Parker leapt from the floor and grabbed her by the arm, dragging her from Booth's clutches and down the steps to the lanes, seemingly not caring or noticing that she was still sock-footed. It was time to play, and nothing was stopping it.

Booth hung back as the two of them surged towards their designated lane. Smiling, he loved that his son had been so welcoming of Bones into their lives. Of course she'd been a part of it for years now, but that hadn't stopped him from feeling nervous about how to tell Parker she wasn't just his work partner anymore. When was the right time? How much would he understand? What would Rebecca say? In the end his worrying was futile. Rebecca had turned up at her apartment at 6am, sleepy boy in tow, in a childcare emergency. He hadn't been home and when she'd rung his cell, Booth had been forced to sheepishly explain that he was at Bones' apartment.

"About time!" she'd muttered arriving at Brennan's place. "No funny business in front of Parker." She pointed a finger at him and she was gone. They'd barely spoken of it since and Parker seemed to think nothing strange of why they were at Brennan's apartment so early in the morning, or question why she was there after school, at dinner, and still there even when his bed time approached.

Parker even seemed to be learning from her, and about her, but - like father, like son - was seeing that logic often got in the way. But not today. She wasn't going to logic her way out of bowling. They'd assured her that it didn't matter if she was bad, claiming Parker would no doubt be worse anyway. Parker had tried using guilt to convince her ('I'll be so sad if you don't come Bones. And I don't like to be sad.' Add the puppy eyes he'd learned from Booth and she was putty in his hands). That hadn't stopped Booth using his own, er... persuasion tactics... to make sure she wouldn't back out. He'd quickly learnt exactly what was needed to make her concede to any argument, in private at least.

"Dad! Dad!" The boy beaconed to Booth, still standing back from the lanes, simply watching their interaction. "Do the names!" He was clearly over excited but Booth had no plans to do anything about it, allowing his excitement to radiate onto Brennan as she starred up at him, smile plastered from ear to ear.

"Coming, Bud."

It took just a few moments for Booth to get the game set up, but Parker was taking every second as opportunity to explain the game to Brennan, though from the confused, sceptical look she was giving him, it wasn't helping.

"It's easy Bones!" The boy was growing frustrated now. "Just throw the ball straight down there, and the pins will fall down."

"But why?"

"Because the ball hits them so they fall down. Except sometimes they just wobble and Dad claims it's ridged when they don't fall."

"No," she was growing as frustrated as he was at his lack of understanding. "Why throw a reactive resin ball at three and a half pounds of maple. It doesn't seem like fun."

Mouth agape, he clearly took her doubts personally. Booth saw that it was time to step in, before he had both a sulking son and an irritated girlfriend to contend with.

"You're up, Park." Booth wrapped his arm around her waist, sitting them down to watch. "Show her how it's done."

"I don't need a demonstration." She growled lowly into his ear.

"It's an expression, Bones." He dropped his head to her shoulder in exasperation for a moment. "Just ... stop trying to analyse everything and enjoy yourself." He leaned in against the side of her neck. "For me." Booth nipped at the spot on her neck that always made her purr.

Perhaps he'd found ways of winning arguments in public after all, but he wouldn't be using that one at work for a while.

_Sorry it's so short, and isn't a Bench update, I haven't much time for writing for the next few weeks. But I'm still here! And I do have most of it written, just need to find time for the finishing touches!_

_Next up here: Ice skating_


End file.
